Stuff treatment apparatus



Q 1952 c. E. ROBERSON STUFF TREATMENT APPARATUS Filed April 2, 1947 INVENTOR. CYRUS E. Ross/15am Patented Jan. I 1952 STUFF TREATMENT APPARATUS Cyrus E. Roberson, Hoosick Falls, N. Y., assignor to The Noble & Wood Machine Company, Hoosick Falls, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 2, 1947, Serial No. 738,979

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to stuff treatment apparatus of the type wherein the material to be treated is passed in fluid form or in a fluid medium through a treatment zone where it is subjected to the forces which will produce the desired changes in its condition, and although not restricted thereto is especially designed for use with apparatus of the general type disclosed in the Tolman patent 2,087,560, dated July 20, 1937.

In that apparatus, and in machines of similar type, one problem is to efficiently extract or withdraw from the stock being treated all extraneous materials which are heavier than or foreign to the fibrous cellulose material constituting the furnish proper. This is especially necessary where the machine is being used for repulping used paper, board, or the like which as collected and furnished to the machine usually contains many foreign materials, such as paper clips, bottle caps, pins, staples, rubber bands, cellophane, or wet-strength papers which will not readily defibre, and other trashor junk which must be extracted from the stock before the pulp, may be re-used.

The general object of my inventionis to provide a simple, reliable and efiicient junk extractor for machines of this type.

Another object is to provide a junk extractor of such design as to utilize to the best eiiect'in the extracting operation the centrifugal force developed by the revolving rotor of the machine.

A further object is to provide an extractor of simple, compact and inexpensive design which may be readily installed upon existing machines of this type in substitution for the extractor unit now used.

Other objects and advantages will appear as this description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawing wherein I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, the single figure is a front end elevation, partly in section, showing my novel extractor installed upon a machine of the general type disclosed in the aforesaid Tolman patent.

Referring to the drawing, shaft NJ is rotated from any suitable power source in the direction of the arrow A. Fast on shaft is a rotor I! having peripheral grooves l2. Rotor l l is continuously revolved relative to a radially adjustable feed connection l3 and to a plurality of radially disposed stator units [4, l5, l6, l1, l8, etc. removably mounted in suitable frames and arranged circumferentially about the rotor. While only a few of the stator units have been illustrated, it will be understood that there is a sufficient number ofsuch units to substantially enclose the rotor (see Tolman patent). Each stator unit includes a radially adjustable shoe carrier and a shoe. The shoes may be plain or may be provided with grooves or recesses in their 2 working faces for cooperation with the grooved peripheral surface of the rotor.

I have indicated at IS a stock inlet chamber or passage adjacent feed connection 13 and at 2|],

a discharge passage or chamber for the refined stock. If desired the machine may have plural stock inlets and discharges, in which event each stock inlet will be provided with an individual extraction unit.

Thus far the construction corresponds generally to that of the patented machine.

7 In the patented machine, however, the centrifugal action of the stock in the stock inlet 19 caused the junk to collect at the dischargeend or the stock inlet chamber where it remained until discharged by manually opening a trash valve located in said chamber. When the trash valve was opened to permit discharge of the accumulated trash, the effect of opening the valve was to direct the full force of the stock inlet pressure away from the rotor and into the trash discharge outlet. Thiscaused an objectionable interruption'of the stock supply to the rotor and consequent excessive wear on the treating units of the machine, due to the breaking down of the stock film between the rotor and the stationary shoes. Moreover, proper operation of the trash valve'required constant attention, since any failure to open this valve at the required intervals resulted in an accumulation of foreign materials against the face of the rotor and excessive Wear thereon, due to'the abrasive action of the foreign materials.

In my invention, I overcome these objections by utilizing the centrifugal action of the stock in the stock inlet chamber to cause the foreign materials to enter an extraction chamber 10- cated closely adjacent the discharge end of the stock inlet chamber. Centrifugal force causes the foreign materials to be continuously forced into the extractionchamber so that the trash or junk contained in the stock may be continuously separated from the stock and withdrawn automatically from the extraction chamber at properly timed intervals without substantially reducing the pressure in the stock inlet chamber and consequent interruption of the feed of the stock to the treating elements of the machine. By this construction I likewise prevent accumulation of the stock against the face of the rotor with resultant abrasive wear thereon.

For accomplishing these beneficial results, I mount the intake end of my extractor unit in the space between the feed connection l3 and the first shoe I4 next thereto in a clockwise direction. Such unit includes a radially disposed tapered nozzlesection 22 which is open at its inner end' and at asuitable distance outwardly therefrom is bent and flared as shown. The intake end of said nozzle section communicates with the pas sage 23 existing between the adjacent, peripheral surface of the rotor and the inner ends of stools inlet 19 and feed connection I3 so that the stock and the junk or trash contained therein will pass from passage 23 directly into said nozzle section almost as soon as such stock enters the apparatus.

Nozzle section 22 may be bolted or otherwise assembled at its outer end with other tubular sections 24 and 25 to provide therewith an ex traction chamber 26 of adequate area. Within this chamber may be located a series of upwardly directed jet nozzles 2'1, or their equivalent, which are continuously supplied as at 28 with liquid or fluid under pressure, as water, for establishing a counter current flow in said chamber of sufilcien'tintensity to return to the rotor any pulp entering the chamber (see arrows B) but insufiicient to prevent heavier objects, such as paper clips or like trash or junk, from dropping by gravity to the bottom of said chamber where they are caught by a periodically opening junk discharge valve 29 which when opened permits their discharge from the machine without substantially reducing the pressure in the stock inlet chamber I9 and consequent breaking of the stock film between the treating units of the machine.

Nozzles 21 may be arranged spirally around the inside of the extraction chamber instead of in a single plane, as shown, and junk discharge valve 29' may be timed to open and close periodically by any suitable timing mechanism, which itself may be mechanically, electrically or hydraulically operated. As here shown, valve 29 is pivoted as at 30 and operated from a revolving cam 3| through cam lever 32 and linkage 33. If desired, however, valve 2 9 might be arranged to slide transversely across the discharge end of the extraction chamber. Beneath junk discharge valve 29; a screen 34 may be placed for catching the discharged from said valve.

operation is as follows: The stock admitted through inlet is passes along passage 23 into the extracting chamber 26 where the junk therein is extracted before the stock receives any treatment in the treatment zone existing between the periphery of the rotor and the adjacent faces of the shoes IE, l5, 16, etc. In the extracting action, the jets of water or other liquid or fluid under pressure from nozzles 21 force the lighter constituents P of the stock back into the machine but permit the heavier constituents, as the trash and junk T to drop by gravity therethrough onto the dump valve 29.

By reference to the single figure it will be seen that the nczzle section 22, which may be otherwise defined as a conduit, is inclined upwardly from the passage 23, which may likewise be defined as the stock inlet chamber. Furthermore, it will be seen that the jet nozzles 21 as shown, together with means for supplying water thereto under pressure, provide the upstanding water streams as shown. These two features of my invention combine to make continuous operation possible and are essential features of my inventiofn The inclined conduit 22 operates to maintain a complete surface coverage in the chamber 23 by virtue of the stock descending by gravity down the said conduit 22, and the upstanding pressurized water streams being in convergent relation and directed into the conduit 22 insure maintenance of the stock pressure in chamber 23. It will be seen that the water jets converge in the upper part of chamber 28 thereby promoting the iii circulatory and centrifugal separating action as indicated by the arrows.

By this construction, I prevent the trash in the stock from coming into contact with the rotor, with consequent abrasive wear on the rotor, and in particular I take advantage of the centrifugal action of the rotor for compelling all of the stock to" enter the extraction unit for separation therein and discharge of the junk therefrom without substantial loss of pressure in the stock inlet chamber.

While I have discussed my invention in its application to a machine of specific type, it will be understood that such discussion is illustrative and not limiting.

For example, it may be used with any stock where the constituents thereof are of difierent specific gravity, or will not defibre when subjected to the pressure-swirling action before entering the treatment zone of the apparatus.

Similarly, while I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention, the constructional features thereof may be variously modified within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters eatent is:

In a rotary paper stock refiner having a rotor, a stator spaced from the rotor to define a treatment zone, and a stock inlet arranged to form a stock inlet chamber wherein stock will be subjected to a swirling action by the rotor prior to entrance into the said treatment zone; in combination with a junk extractor, an extraction chamber, a stock inlet chamber, an outwardly tapered conduit inclined upwardly from said inlet chamber, a second conduit inclined downwardly and interconnecting the extraction chamber with said upwardly inclined conduit, said conduits being adapted to receive stock impelled therein from the stock inlet chamber by the rotor, spaced jet nozzles directed upwardly in convergent relation in the extraction chamber, and

, means supplying water under pressure to the said nozzles to form high pressure water streams toward the entrance of the conduit into the extraction chamber but aimed at anang'le whereby the stock in the said conduit will be subjected to a centrifugal action with the heavier particles therein dropping into the extraction chamber,

and the pressure of the streams being sufiicient' to maintain the stock pressure head in the conduit regardless of other conditions of pressure in the extraction chamber;

CYRUS E. ROBERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

iflfiT'ED STATES PATENTS Number H Name Date 1,814,587 Daniels July 14, 1931 1,868,299 Whistler m July 19, 1932 2,087,557 Tolman July 20, 1937 2,087,558 Tolman July 20, 193'! 2,207,218 Forman a July 9, 1940 2,220,676 Cowles Nov. 5, 1940 OTHER REFERENCES Root et al., articlein Paper Trade Journal, April 3, 1941, pp. 35-40. 

